UPDATE 1-US air rules seen adding 1.5 mln jobs through 2015

* More than 2,000 net permanent jobs seen created
(Adds quote from Senator Carper, paragraph 9)

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Looming U.S. rules that power
utilities face on air pollution could create nearly 1.5 million
jobs over the next five years, according to a report.

Engineering, construction and pipefitting are some of the
professions that could see a rise in jobs as U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency rules push utilities to invest in new
capacity and pollution controls, said the report "New Jobs -
Cleaner Air". The report was commissioned by Ceres, a coalition
of environmentalists and institutional investors. (To read the
report, click r.reuters.com/nyp87r)

Republicans and some Democrats in Congress have slammed the
EPA's looming air rules on utilities as "job killing", saying
they could push older coal plants into early retirement and
raise electricity prices.

But the report, produced by researchers at University of
Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute, said
investments to comply with the Clean Air Act have been good for
the economy. It quoted the Office of Management and Budget,
which said in 2003 that every dollar spent on compliance with
the act since 1970 has led to $4 to $8 in economic benefits.

"The bottom line: clean air is a worthwhile investment,"
said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres.

Most of the nearly 1.5 million jobs would be temporary,
lasting through 2015 and depend on plants spending nearly $200
billion on pollution controls and building new capacity.
Continued...